Chicago Fit Expo Strongman Challenge Write-up
This competition was something I was looking forward to ever since I sent my entry in for it in early January. I knew going into this competition that this would not be a walk in the park. Competing for a chance to win your pro card really brings the best competitors out and one small mistake could ruin your chances of a win or even placing.
I knew prepping for this comp that I needed to change what I was currently doing. Yes, I was already consistently getting stronger but deep down, I felt that I plateaued and wasn't improving at the rate that I wanted to. I began to work with Josh Pratt as a coach, he owns my current gym and second home, Just Performance Fitness in Moosup, CT.
When the programming began, I hated it. I didn't do any strongman events and there was so much volume but this really pushed me. The next cycle, we concentrated on more band and explosion work. The final training cycle prior to this competition concentrated on all events, this was by far the hardest training cycle.
About 3 weeks out from this competition, I ran into a rather major road block. While training for the log clean and press, I messed my lower back up. I could barely walk. Even as I am writing this, it is still off, half of that is because of the injury, the other half is from the competition. This really prevented me from training the last two weeks prior to the competition and try to fix any remaining kinks that I might have had.
Now this competition was very odd for me because I had no supporters with me that day. I know everyone was back home rooting me on and cheering for me but not having my wife or coach there I think messed with me a little bit, but no excuses. When I arrived at the venue to weigh in, I was a little shocked about how much I weighed-in at but knew I was getting heavy. I wound up weighing in at 318lbs which was the most I have ever weighed in my entire life. I definitely put on some size for this event, a lot good weight but definitely some bad in there (now that it is over, it's time to lose some of that bad).
Now it was time for the competition to begin. There was supposed to be 22 heavyweights in the class but some dropped out, we ended up with 16 HW competitors.
Link to my YouTube Channel that has this competition video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9TqhqfOZ-g
The first event was the 300lb log clean and press for reps. My goal was to be in the top 1/3 of the group, however many reps that needed to be. When I hurt my back in training, I was actually trying to fix my log clean which I did. In training I hit 320 for 2 triples so I knew I could get some reps on the log. I managed to get 4 reps in the 60 seconds. I need to get my timing better. On my 4th rep, I sat for a little too long with the log on my lap. Then after the press, I stepped away and took a few seconds before going for my 5th rep. When trying to clean the 5th rep, my form was just off. When I put the log back down, I didn't have enough time to try and go for the rep again. I need to be smarter and treat every second more valuable and be more efficient with my time. The log tied me for 4th place.
The second event was the MAS wrestling tournament. Now I never did MAS wrestling before, I only trained for it against bands which was definitely interesting and hard. For the first part of the tournament, you had 2 matches that were best out of 3, I won both of my matches 2-0. I just completely overpowered the other competitors and ripped the stick from their hands. After that, everyone that was 2-0 like myself got to go to a winners tournament right before the last event.
In the meantime, we moved on to the 3rd event. They had to make some changes to this one. It was carry 3 different kegs (230, 250, 270) from different distances (60, 40, 20ft), load them into a wheelbarrow, and deadlift the wheelbarrow for reps. The wheelbarrow was on a car deadlift frame and you had to look at the wheelbarrow when deadlifting it. There were no straps allowed with made the event harder (I was ok with that). I did not rush with the legs because I knew I had enough time (90seconds for the event) so I just wanted to conserve as much energy as possible for the deadlift portion. The whole deadlift contraption weighed about 1400lbs which was about 800-850 in the hands. I grinded out 4 reps. Again, I probably should've moved a little faster on the carry. What killed me was after the second rep, all I saw was starts so I had to walk away, get my bearings, then go back to deadlifting.
What I need to work on if I really want to achieve my goal and become a pro strongman is keep grinding! Thinking about it now, I probably could've deadlifted more and faster. My last two reps were fast because time was running out and I had to push myself to finish. This is something I really need to improve. I need to really dig down deep and push myself to a level that I have not reached yet.
The 4th event was supposed to be a yoke/farmers medley. It was supposed to be a 800lb yoke down 60 ft and 300lb farmers back the 60ft. During the log press event, they used 45 plates to go under the rubber mats that the logs sat on to help the log start higher. This resulted in over 4-45lb plates getting broken. So when it came time for the medley, they did not have enough weights for us to do both items. The event was changed to be a 800lb yoke carry down 60ft and back. I never carried a yoke that far before. I do not know where I ended with this but it was in the mid to high 20seconds. I do not know where I placed in this, all I know is I did lose to the person I went head to head with. My legs were completely shot at this point. The lactic acid just made my legs feel like jello.
After the yoke, we returned to our MAS wrestling winners tournament. There were 6 of us that went 2-0 and had to compete again. I went against this guy Jason who just like me, was undefeated in the first round. When our match began, I already knew it was over. This guy was over 400lbs and just wouldn't move. I tried to move my feet and try to twist or turn him, he just stayed in place. He won the first round. Then on round two, I tired to move him again and nothing happened. I decided to let the stick go and lose because I did not want to get hurt. I have two friends that tore muscles while training for MAS wrestling and did not want that to be me. It was then time for me to rest up and get ready for some stones.
Going into the stones, I was tied for 5th place. All I wanted for this 390lb atlas stone over a 56" bar for reps was 1. I never loaded anything over 360lbs before so this would've been a huge PR for me. I lapped it but did not get it loaded. Looking at the video, I wasn't even close. This is another item I need to improve if I am going to make a serious run to be a top amateur strongman and go pro.
As I am writing this, I still do not know my final placing on the day, I believe I ended in 6th place but never know, that zero could've killed me. A lot of people zeroed though so I don't know. If I got 2 or even 3 reps, I would've placed. The person I was tied with prior to the stones loaded it 3 times and ended up in 2nd place overall. This is why stones are so important, they are a deal breaker. Overall though, I was happy with my performance on the other 4 events, they were all PRs for me.
Now that this comp is over, it is time to concentrate on the next one. As of right now, I am not planning on competing again until nationals in October but I might do the Mass State Championship at TPS in August, it is all max events which is always fun! All I know at the moment now is I need to take this week and recover (my whole body is just a wreck at the moment) then at a minimum, lose some of these extra lbs that I gained for this comp.
I would like to thank all of my supporters and sponsors that continue to help me and push me to become the best I can be. To The Protein Bakery, thank you for always sending me the healthy, most delicious protein packed treats on the market. These fuel my workouts and competitions by giving me the cabs and protein I need to keep chugging along. To Play Again, thank you Debbie and your team for providing me with the best joint supplement that any person, not just strength athlete, could ask for. To HYLETE, thank you for providing me with this awesome training gear and great XL convertible bag. It was the perfect carry on luggage for my travels. It also fit all of my gear perfectly and has many different compartments for everything I need. To Josh Pratt and the Just Performance Fitness crew, thank you for taking me under your wing and becoming my coach. Thank you for always pushing me during my training me and testing my limits to become better. Thank you all at JPF, all of my fellow members and lifters for sending me best wishes, pushing me during training, cheering me on, and even helping unloading my weights after the shitty workouts that Josh gives me. Lastly I would like to thank by biggest supporter, my wife Olivia. Thank you for continuing to put up with my bullshit. I know these long training nights haven't been the best but thank you for always being there for me and supporting me in achieving my dreams.
Now, it's time to begin my week of active recovery (going to be concentrating on some cardio and soft tissue work) and get ready for the next training program that Josh has to offer me that will help me get to that next level.
I knew prepping for this comp that I needed to change what I was currently doing. Yes, I was already consistently getting stronger but deep down, I felt that I plateaued and wasn't improving at the rate that I wanted to. I began to work with Josh Pratt as a coach, he owns my current gym and second home, Just Performance Fitness in Moosup, CT.
When the programming began, I hated it. I didn't do any strongman events and there was so much volume but this really pushed me. The next cycle, we concentrated on more band and explosion work. The final training cycle prior to this competition concentrated on all events, this was by far the hardest training cycle.
About 3 weeks out from this competition, I ran into a rather major road block. While training for the log clean and press, I messed my lower back up. I could barely walk. Even as I am writing this, it is still off, half of that is because of the injury, the other half is from the competition. This really prevented me from training the last two weeks prior to the competition and try to fix any remaining kinks that I might have had.
Now this competition was very odd for me because I had no supporters with me that day. I know everyone was back home rooting me on and cheering for me but not having my wife or coach there I think messed with me a little bit, but no excuses. When I arrived at the venue to weigh in, I was a little shocked about how much I weighed-in at but knew I was getting heavy. I wound up weighing in at 318lbs which was the most I have ever weighed in my entire life. I definitely put on some size for this event, a lot good weight but definitely some bad in there (now that it is over, it's time to lose some of that bad).
Now it was time for the competition to begin. There was supposed to be 22 heavyweights in the class but some dropped out, we ended up with 16 HW competitors.
Link to my YouTube Channel that has this competition video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9TqhqfOZ-g
The first event was the 300lb log clean and press for reps. My goal was to be in the top 1/3 of the group, however many reps that needed to be. When I hurt my back in training, I was actually trying to fix my log clean which I did. In training I hit 320 for 2 triples so I knew I could get some reps on the log. I managed to get 4 reps in the 60 seconds. I need to get my timing better. On my 4th rep, I sat for a little too long with the log on my lap. Then after the press, I stepped away and took a few seconds before going for my 5th rep. When trying to clean the 5th rep, my form was just off. When I put the log back down, I didn't have enough time to try and go for the rep again. I need to be smarter and treat every second more valuable and be more efficient with my time. The log tied me for 4th place.
The second event was the MAS wrestling tournament. Now I never did MAS wrestling before, I only trained for it against bands which was definitely interesting and hard. For the first part of the tournament, you had 2 matches that were best out of 3, I won both of my matches 2-0. I just completely overpowered the other competitors and ripped the stick from their hands. After that, everyone that was 2-0 like myself got to go to a winners tournament right before the last event.
In the meantime, we moved on to the 3rd event. They had to make some changes to this one. It was carry 3 different kegs (230, 250, 270) from different distances (60, 40, 20ft), load them into a wheelbarrow, and deadlift the wheelbarrow for reps. The wheelbarrow was on a car deadlift frame and you had to look at the wheelbarrow when deadlifting it. There were no straps allowed with made the event harder (I was ok with that). I did not rush with the legs because I knew I had enough time (90seconds for the event) so I just wanted to conserve as much energy as possible for the deadlift portion. The whole deadlift contraption weighed about 1400lbs which was about 800-850 in the hands. I grinded out 4 reps. Again, I probably should've moved a little faster on the carry. What killed me was after the second rep, all I saw was starts so I had to walk away, get my bearings, then go back to deadlifting.
What I need to work on if I really want to achieve my goal and become a pro strongman is keep grinding! Thinking about it now, I probably could've deadlifted more and faster. My last two reps were fast because time was running out and I had to push myself to finish. This is something I really need to improve. I need to really dig down deep and push myself to a level that I have not reached yet.
The 4th event was supposed to be a yoke/farmers medley. It was supposed to be a 800lb yoke down 60 ft and 300lb farmers back the 60ft. During the log press event, they used 45 plates to go under the rubber mats that the logs sat on to help the log start higher. This resulted in over 4-45lb plates getting broken. So when it came time for the medley, they did not have enough weights for us to do both items. The event was changed to be a 800lb yoke carry down 60ft and back. I never carried a yoke that far before. I do not know where I ended with this but it was in the mid to high 20seconds. I do not know where I placed in this, all I know is I did lose to the person I went head to head with. My legs were completely shot at this point. The lactic acid just made my legs feel like jello.
After the yoke, we returned to our MAS wrestling winners tournament. There were 6 of us that went 2-0 and had to compete again. I went against this guy Jason who just like me, was undefeated in the first round. When our match began, I already knew it was over. This guy was over 400lbs and just wouldn't move. I tried to move my feet and try to twist or turn him, he just stayed in place. He won the first round. Then on round two, I tired to move him again and nothing happened. I decided to let the stick go and lose because I did not want to get hurt. I have two friends that tore muscles while training for MAS wrestling and did not want that to be me. It was then time for me to rest up and get ready for some stones.
Going into the stones, I was tied for 5th place. All I wanted for this 390lb atlas stone over a 56" bar for reps was 1. I never loaded anything over 360lbs before so this would've been a huge PR for me. I lapped it but did not get it loaded. Looking at the video, I wasn't even close. This is another item I need to improve if I am going to make a serious run to be a top amateur strongman and go pro.
As I am writing this, I still do not know my final placing on the day, I believe I ended in 6th place but never know, that zero could've killed me. A lot of people zeroed though so I don't know. If I got 2 or even 3 reps, I would've placed. The person I was tied with prior to the stones loaded it 3 times and ended up in 2nd place overall. This is why stones are so important, they are a deal breaker. Overall though, I was happy with my performance on the other 4 events, they were all PRs for me.
Now that this comp is over, it is time to concentrate on the next one. As of right now, I am not planning on competing again until nationals in October but I might do the Mass State Championship at TPS in August, it is all max events which is always fun! All I know at the moment now is I need to take this week and recover (my whole body is just a wreck at the moment) then at a minimum, lose some of these extra lbs that I gained for this comp.
I would like to thank all of my supporters and sponsors that continue to help me and push me to become the best I can be. To The Protein Bakery, thank you for always sending me the healthy, most delicious protein packed treats on the market. These fuel my workouts and competitions by giving me the cabs and protein I need to keep chugging along. To Play Again, thank you Debbie and your team for providing me with the best joint supplement that any person, not just strength athlete, could ask for. To HYLETE, thank you for providing me with this awesome training gear and great XL convertible bag. It was the perfect carry on luggage for my travels. It also fit all of my gear perfectly and has many different compartments for everything I need. To Josh Pratt and the Just Performance Fitness crew, thank you for taking me under your wing and becoming my coach. Thank you for always pushing me during my training me and testing my limits to become better. Thank you all at JPF, all of my fellow members and lifters for sending me best wishes, pushing me during training, cheering me on, and even helping unloading my weights after the shitty workouts that Josh gives me. Lastly I would like to thank by biggest supporter, my wife Olivia. Thank you for continuing to put up with my bullshit. I know these long training nights haven't been the best but thank you for always being there for me and supporting me in achieving my dreams.
Now, it's time to begin my week of active recovery (going to be concentrating on some cardio and soft tissue work) and get ready for the next training program that Josh has to offer me that will help me get to that next level.
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